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Knock Castle Hotel and Spa - 2 bubbles
This Scottish castle has stunning views and good Dermalogica treatments, but your spa experience suffers from a very disjointed arrangement between the treatment rooms and the separate pool area. Best for popping in for an individual treatment from the therapists who know their stuff.
First impressions?
What's on offer?
Which treatments did you have?
What were the treatments like?
What else could you have?
Food facts
Was it worth it?
We loved
We didn't love
Who do you think would like it?
Why did you give the spa this rating?
Would you go again?
First impressions?
A real castle complete with turrets, built in stone and overlooking the forested countryside around Crieff. Our room was in one of those turrets, with two windows overlooking the gardens and a bathroom with a raised bath so you can look out of the window while you soak!
What's on offer?
Two treatment rooms and a relaxation room within the hotel.
The Egg: a massage pod which stands in a corridor in the hotel.
In a separate conservatory in the grounds, a kidney-shaped pool, steam room and sauna, spa bath, and a small gym.
Which treatments did you have?
I had the Deep thermal therapy (90 minutes, £75), a pedicure with hot stones (75 minutes) and The Egg!
What were the treatments like?
The Egg is a pod with a massage bed inside. You close the door, lights twinkle in the ceiling, gentle music plays and the massage bed works subtle magic on your calves, thighs and lower back. I took one look and had a mild panic. As a claustrophobe, the thought of closing myself inside The Egg was not at all relaxing. My kind partner volunteered to try it and enjoyed it. He said that he must have been very relaxed as he thought he had been in there only a few minutes and was surprised to find the 15 minutes has passed so quickly.
We then went down to the treatment area and met Aileen and Tracy, our therapists.
Aileen did my deep thermal treatment. This involves "thermal stamping" which sounds a bit violent, but in fact was very relaxing and soothing. The key factor is heat. The treatment begins with the application of an exfoliant that heats up on contact with the skin. You notice the heat straight away: pleasantly warm, rather than hot. The exfoliant is fine grained, so gentle on the skin and easy to wash off in the warm shower.
The massage is combined with the "stamping". Small muslin bags filled with Dermologia products are heated and tapped on the skin. These are very hot; I found the tapping only just bearable. As the bags started to cool down, Aileen slid them along my meridian lines. The "stamping" helps drive the product deep into the skin. The massage was deeply relaxing and my back and neck felt very stretched and loose. My skin felt smooth and silky and seemed to have regained some of the elasticity it used to have.
Tracy took my partner off for a pedicure which involved a hot stone massage on his arms and shoulders which he was pretty impressed by. His feet were in hot mittens at the time! He enjoyed the combination of practical work on his feet and the relaxing massage.
What else could you have?
A range of massages and facials using Dermalogica products; Velashape cellulite treatments, hot stone massages, scrubs, wraps, manicures and pedicures, waxing and tanning.
Food facts
The fine dining room is elegant, but wasn't in use when we were there, so everyone ate in the fourth-floor Stags Leap restaurant, which was decorated and equipped more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. It did have amazing views of the sunset over the Scottish hills, though.
Our food was very variable. The seven-course tasting menu was, in parts, very good, with local Scottish fillet of beef as the centrepiece, a delicious fish consommé with sweet scallops, and a rich duck-liver pate nicely enlivened by raisins. However, the bread served with the pate was pre-packed sliced bread, which had obviously sat in the basket for some time as it was hard around the edges. The cheese "sharing" plate had tiny portions of cheese served straight from the fridge.
The semi-open-plan kitchen meant that heat and cooking smells tended to drift around the dining room. Also, we have never seen a dining room with a loo that opened straight off it before, and I can't say that watching people go in and out of it enhanced our dining experience.
Was it worth it?
Prices are quite high given the rather ad- hoc nature of the castle and the food. Spa days start at reasonable prices, though you are unlikely to have a very joined-up spa experience given the nature of the spa layout.
We loved
The quality of the treatments which were well delivered by therapists who know their stuff.
The setting and the views of the Scottish countryside.
We didn't love
The disjointed experience between the treatment rooms, which are in the hotel, and the pool, which is in another building in the garden, down a flight of stone stairs. You can't really wander from the pool to the hotel -- especially given the typical Scottish weather.
The brown leather sofas in the relaxation room are a strange choice. I wasn't comfortable sitting on them while I was still oily from my treatment. The colour scheme of brown and yellow in the treatment area is slightly depressing.
The rather neglected changing rooms, sauna and steam room in the pool building. They hadn't been decorated for some time, there was mould low down on the wall near the showers, the plughole in the women's shower was crammed full of hairs, and a light cover in the sauna had fallen off and been left on the floor. Judging by the dust around it, it had been there some time. Damp towels were still in the laundry basket the next day. This is a shame, as the pool and spa bath were warm and clean.
The pool building is unattended and there is no panic button. A sign tells users to use the phone to call reception in an emergency.
The frankly mucky carpets on one staircase in the castle.
The noisy motorbike rider who stopped right outside my treatment room and had a shouted conversation, while revving the engine.
Who do you think would like it?
Locals who want to pop in for a treatment.
Foodies who know when the main dining room will be open.
Country lovers who can time having their aperitif with the setting of the sun.
Why did you give the spa this rating?
We found it difficult to categorise Knock Castle; it's not really a hotel and spa, more a hotel with some treatment rooms and a separate pool in the grounds. The standard of treatments is high but there is no real "spa" experience, and parts of the pool area are very neglected. Because of the neglect, we couldn't give Knock Castle more than 2 bubbles.
See more on how we rate the spas.
Would you go again?
I would love the thermal stamping treatment again, so if I were in the area I would stop off for a late afternoon treatment followed by a sunset drink!
We visited Knock Castle in August 2011.
* Contact details for Knock Castle
* The Good Spa Guide's favourite foodie spas
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